Conventional retail security devices, such as passive Radio Frequency ID (RFID) tags or electronic article surveillance (EAS) tags perform limited roles within retail security systems. Furthermore, the typical roles of such tags are static. For example, once configured at the time of manufacturing, an EAS tag can only operate within the role of a device that facilitates triggering the sounding of an alarm when the device passes through an EAS gate. As such, RFID tags and EAS tags are often one dimensional, or at least relatively limited in their ability to enhance operations of a retail store or other entity. Such inflexibility of these types of tags prevents or severely limits the ability of a user to reconfigure their security system or get other information from the tags. For example, when a retail business chooses to change the arrangement of the products within the store, a corresponding change to the security system may also be required.
Accordingly, it may be desirable to develop a retail monitoring system with tags that are not limited in their configuration.